Why must Jewish and Arab
blood be shed?

The following statement by the late founder and leader of the "Guardians of the Holy
City", deals with a basic issue germane to the present conflict in the Middle East.

The nations of the world gave credence to the canard that the Zionists represent Jewish People. Ironically, without this recognition, the Zionists would not have been able to establish their hegemony over the Jewish people.

If the Arabs lay the blame for the loss of their territories upon the nations, then the Jewish People can attribute the even greater loss of their historic identity as a G-dly people to the acceptance of the Zionists as the spokesmen of the Jewish People. By their recognition, they have inflicted more harm on the authentic people of Israel, its Torah, and its faith than upon the Arab people.

Actually, the Zionist athiests have no intrinsic connection with the Jewish People. There is no fact so axiomatic of the Jewish People as their adherence to the Torah. The Jewish People has no interest in the Zionists or in Zionism, or in temporal power; we eschew nationalism and its political implications.

The Jewish people are opposed to any confronation with the Arab people. Before the advent of political Zionism, Barn Rothchild made substantial purchases of land from the Arabs. The original Jewish settlers of Rishon Letzion, Zichron Yaakov, Rechovos, Ekron, etc., lived in harmony with their Arab neighbors. We lived side by side with out Arab neighbors in tranquility. Moreover, the Arab population had genuine respect for their Jewish neighbors, and maintained business relationships in a friendly and cordial atmosphere.     Not until after World War I, when the Zionists obtained the Balfour declaration and came to the Holy Land, did the fight between the Zionists and Arabs begin. The Old Yishuv (the Jewish community that predated Zionism) found itself caught in this conflict against its will.

The Zionists have irresposibly shown no regard for Jewish blood, and have extended their rule over parts of the Holy Land that had been inhabited by Arabs, and hereby brought the entire Jewish community into conflict with the Arab world.

These Zionists are the proud reincarnation of the infamous hoodlums who were responsible for the genocide of the Jewish People at the time of the First Temple. The Prophet Jeremiah pleaded with them to lay down their arms in the face of insurmountable odds and certain defeat, and to surrender the city to Nebuchadnezar, King of Babylon. Jeremiah proclamed the will of G-d that the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Temle be destroyed aspunishment for sin and that if the Jewish People accepted this decree their lives would be spared. Jeremiah was labeled a traitor by these hoodlums and, as a result, not only was the Temple destroyed, but almost the entire population slaughtered.

These Zionists are the proud reincarnation of the infamous hoodlums who were responsible for the destruction of the Second Temple. Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai, leader of the Jewish People, called upon them to lay down their arms and surrender to the Romans. They refused and brought upon the Jews the calamity of the destruction of the Second Temple and the exile that followed.

In their surge for power and victory at all costs, their proclaimed alternative, is a Massada death. As one of their own leaders stated emphatically before the 1967 war, "we are prepared to fight to the last Israeli." How much Jewish blood must be spilled in order for them to maintain their goal of a so called "Jewish" State?

The Massada complex of the Zionists would coundemb the Jewish People to complete physical annihilation. The Jewish People rejected national suicide in the days of Masada and they survived as a people only because they accepted the leadership of Jeremiah and Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai and throughout the generations, the leadership of those leaders who followed the path of these giants.

Moreover, by the command of the Torah, the Jew is obliged to further the welfare of the state wherein he dwells. He entertains no thought of rebellion. The Torah forbids us to retake the Holy Land by force of arms. Jews abhor the murder of any human being for any reason whatsoever. In our entire long exile, there has never been an instance where the Torah justifies the use of murder, as the Sages point out with particular reference to Genesis Rabba 93.

The Jewish People deplore the loss of lives by the Zionist struggle for power. The Jews who areloyal to G-d and to His Torah are also loyal to the covenant imposed upon them, even when dwelling in the Holy Land, to eschew force of arms. They are innocent of responsibility for the present disturbances, and they regard themselves as captives of the present regime. Those who are unwillingly involved in the political state consider it a contradiction to their faith and conscience.

Let every upright person realize that the whole world will bear the guilt of an irreparable crime if this game, involving the lives of thousands of innocents, is enabled to develop, Heaven forbid. The compassion, which is in the heart of every scrupulous person, mus be aroused to influence those who posses this empty ambition to stop.

May the Master of peace grant us and the whole world blessing and peace.

Rabbi Amrom Blau

All of the great Rabbis of the past generations were of the same opinion.

Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonenfeld zt"l chief Rabbi of the Holy Land had declared in his time that "the Jews do not want to enroach upon the rest of the inhabitants of the Holy Land. The Jews do not want, in any way, to take that which isn't theirs. The Holy Land is a bountiful land, in which there is room for all of its inhabitants to dwell in peace, without anyone interfering with his neighbor to the slightest degree".

His sucessor Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinksky ztl"l writes in his book on the June '67 war "Al Hageulah Veal Hatmurah" that "it is an obligation, according to the Torah, to try all possible means in the world to avoid war. But instead of doing this, they acted to the contrary, and rushed like water to bring on the war more rapidly. This happened because the value of each and every Jewish soul hasno meaning to them. They would sooner see Jewish lives perish. Heaven forbid, than permit their haughtiness to be curbed. To them, military ictory is farmoreimportant than the life of the individual."

In line with the position taken by our late leader Rabbi Amrom Blau, we intend to issue a fully detailed position paper on the current crisis in the Middle East according to the Torah and Talmud and the words of our Prophets.